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<title>Loyalty is a Powerful Thing by PolkaDot_BowTie</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22682950">Loyalty is a Powerful Thing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolkaDot_BowTie/pseuds/PolkaDot_BowTie'>PolkaDot_BowTie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>My inner demons, aphmau - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Battle, Blood, Enjoy anyway though, Fighting, Guilt, Guilty! Asch, Hurt! Pierce, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Injury, One-Shot, Passing out of pain, Peace turned fight, Pierce has a bad habit of bottling up his feelings until it's too late, Pre-Earth, Sorry if its not very good</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:03:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,075</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22682950</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolkaDot_BowTie/pseuds/PolkaDot_BowTie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In the heat of battle, Pierce uses the training he has learned throughout his life to protect his Prince. However, it appears that fate didn't grant him and his Prince to both leave unscathed...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Loyalty is a Powerful Thing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the crimson sun burnt through the sky like a ruby torch, Asch stood tall. He held his head high within the woods. Asch, prince of the most prominent kingdom of Daemos, was stood negotiating peace terms with the neutral tribe of the forests. He was standing with his knight, and his three guards.</p><p>"We have stated our terms, would you care to reveal yours?" Rhys questioned. </p><p>"Of course, we want... <em>you to leave...</em>" The leader growled, baring weapons. Asch's eyes widened: this wasn't a meeting, it was a set-up!</p><p>"Draw your weapons!" Pierce yelled, pulling his broadsword from it's scabbard and racing towards the offenders, "Protect Asch!"</p><p>The clashing and clanging of weapons and the hissing of fire followed the meeting. Leif phased around, piercing their enemies with his emerald sickles. Noi skinned the attackers with his daggers whilst Rhys fended them off with magic. Pierce was plunging his sword into the backs of the offenders whilst their back were turned, sending blood splattering across the floor of the forest. That's when it happened.</p><p>"Asch! Watch out!" Leif screeched from the other side of the clearing. Asch turned around in time to see an arrow being released from a bow, a flash of light blue and the grunt of an injured friend.</p><p>"Retreat!" Called the leader of the forest tribe, before all the warriors cleared away, vanishing into the trees. Rhys, Leif and Noi all ran towards the Prince and his knight. </p><p>"Are you guys okay?!" Noi squealed, worried. </p><p>"I'm fine, thank you Pierce." Asch thanked as the Daemos general straightened. When Pierce met Asch's eyes, they seemed duller than the usual piercing blue eyes that stared into your soul without mercy. That's when he heard Noi gasp.</p><p>"Pierce! Your side!" The orange-horned Daemos gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. The Daemos general looked down and stared at the arrow sticking out from his side blankly before returning his gaze to the shortest of them. He shrugged nonchalantly before snapping the end off. </p><p>"We should go, Lady Grandma will be worried." Pierce stated quietly. Asch nodded, leading his men out of the forest towards the palace. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>As they walked over the bridge leading to the castle's courtyard, Asch had a strange feeling. He simply ignored it, he was most likely just a little shaken from that fight. Lady Grandma appeared underneath the gateway, rushing to their side as usual. </p><p>"There you five are! I was beginning to worry, you're not usually gone that long." She said, examining Asch's face briefly before turning to look at her grandson's guards and knight. Asch turned around. His eyes immediately met with Pierce's, before the light blue ones flicked away distantly. Asch realised there was a subtle sheen of sweat across Pierce's sienna forehead, his curly hair sticking to it unnoticeably. He saw as the Daemos general swallowed thickly before wincing slightly. Something wasn't right... </p><p>"Come, you all must tell me how to terms of peace meeting went!" The older female stated leading them all inside. Before he turned around to follow his grandmother, Asch saw Pierce limping. Something wasn't right at all... </p><p>They walked inside the courtyard. As they did, they were met with worried looks and whispering. Asch quirked an eye-brow at the odd behaviour until a hand came and rested on his shoulder, shaking him weakly.</p><p>"Prince Asch..." Pierce began, "Something is wrong..." Asch noticed that his knight's face was very pale and his eyes were glazed over. He followed Pierce's arm down towards his injured side, where the general removed his hand. There was a medium sized pool of indigo blood staining the blue robe as well as Pierce's hand that had just been removed. His eyes widened as he quickly put the general's hand back on his blood-stained side. </p><p>"Don't let them see it." Asch said through gritted teeth. He didn't mean for it to come out so harshly, but it wouldn't have looked good for Pierce to be seen injured, "Grandmother!" Asch hissed. Lady Grandma turned around, looking at him irritably. </p><p>"What is it!?" She cried, waving her walking stick in the air, frustrated. Asch gestured to Pierce's side. Lady Grandma walked over and saw the blood stains on the generals clothing and hand. Her eyes widened before she ordered Noi to help.</p><p>"You! Scrub! Help him! Come, Pierce, we'll help you out." She purred after screaming at Noi. Noi came and put his arm around Pierce's waist (being careful of the injury, of course) and guiding him to the bedrooms. Rhys and Leif followed in case they needed any help.</p><p>They got half-way before Pierce stopped walking. Noi stopped walking and looked at the knight, puzzled. Pierce's face scrunched up in obvious pain, before smoothing out. His breathing hitched as his knees buckled underneath him. </p><p>"N-Noi..." Pierce whispered, "I'm gonna-" The blue-horned Daemos' eyes rolled before he could finish, slipping from reality due to the pain. </p><p>"Pierce!" Noi cried, startled, catching the taller Daemos as he fell forwards. This small outburst caught the other guards' attention. Rhys and Leif ran towards Noi, helping him hold the taller and heavier Daemos. Asch turned around in time to see Leif hold Pierce's legs whilst Noi holds his arms as they manoeuvred him through the door. Rhys was quick to prepare a bed for them to place him on as they removed the blood-soaked robes and undershirt, leaving a puncture, with half the arrow still in it, fully exposed. Lady Grandma purred at the sight of the general's abs whilst Rhys used his magic to remove the arrow. He placed it on a tray on the bedside table before cleaning the wound thoroughly. Pierce winced subconsciously and flinched away. Rhys grimaced before returning his attentions to the puncture wound on the Daemos general's side. He applied a small healing cream, a small amount of magic before wrapping the knight's abdomen in a white gauze wrap. That's when Rhal walked in, Lady Bish hot on his heels. </p><p>"Asch!!" Rhal roared, anger clear as his face grew redder by the second, "What did you do to the kingdom's best general!?" </p><p>"I did nothing!" Asch countered.</p><p>"Actually, your highness, Pierce was injured defending you from that arrow." Rhys said matter-of-factly, before shrinking back under the intense gazes of the two Princes. </p><p>"I-I-!" Asch stuttered. He glanced over at Pierce's unconscious form on the bed. He looked so peaceful.</p><p> </p><p>"..This is all my fault..." Asch admitted quietly.</p>
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